Wimbledon: Halep defies heel problem, beats Bertens to enter last 16

Simona Halep made it through to the fourth round of Wimbledon with a straightforward victory over Kiki Bertens on Centre Court, despite a lingering Achilles problem

World number five Simona Halep made it through to the fourth round of Wimbledon with a straightforward victory over Kiki Bertens on Centre Court on Saturday, despite a lingering Achilles problem.

Simona Halep (L) shakes hands with Kiki Bertens (R) after the match.(AFP)

The 2014 Wimbledon semi-finalist cruised to a 6-4, 6-3 win over the Dutch world number 28, watched by a wealth of British sports stars including members of England’s 1966 football World Cup-winning team.

She faces either ninth seed Madison Keys or Alize Cornet in the round of 16 on Monday.

Halep did not play a grasscourt warm-up tournament before Wimbledon due to a tendon injury.

“I’m fit now but some days I have pain again. I don’t know what is going on with my Achilles,” she said.

The 24-year-old said she would not be going to watch Keys face Cornet to get some inside information ahead of Monday’s match.

“I’m not doing that job, my coach does,” she said.